Authored By Shanzeh Jalali
Brown parents can be a handful sometimes, especially when it comes to forbidden topics such as therapy. Telling your parents you want to try it isn’t the most ideal step-considering we’re dealing with brown parents-but it’s not impossible. Sure, we have to keep in mind the pressure of the community and your mom giving an explanation to nosey aunties something along the lines of ‘mera bacha pagal nahi hai’.
Scrolling through Instagram,looking at mental health advocates saying 'it's okay to feel sad, it's okay to ask for help' but at the same time drowning in a herd of people that consider a person going to therapy as the black sheep.
But, take a step for yourself and we’re here to help you alongside.
WAIT FOR THE RIGHT TIME
Don’t just drop the bomb. Look at their mood, their routine, if they are tired or not, and then approach them. It’s always good to be careful about stuff you know is going to cause havoc.
BE PREPARED
YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED! You would know your parents better than anyone. Do your research on therapists and tell them the positive aspect of it. If you know things will get out of hand, be two steps ahead of it and make a plan.
SLIDE THERAPY INTO NORMAL CONVERSATIONS
This isn’t a new fact that the brain registers little things throughout the day, take a little help from psychological tricks yourself. Make a small point of how therapy is beneficial and move on from the topic. It’ll (hopefully) stick to them and they will understand.
SEARCH! SEARCH! SEARCH!
A little research hasn’t done harm to anybody. In fact, it’s quite useful to have an upper hand in useful situations. Find out the practicality of therapy and how much it would mean to you if they supported you getting it.
SOCIETY ISN’T EVERYTHING
Brown parents have nightmares about people talking about their children and so you have to be really careful about this. Make tea, sit down with them, and let your heart out. It will be difficult but if it works out we can bet it would be worth it.
LISTEN TO THEM
At the end of the day parents just want the kids to listen to them: take up more chores, do extra work around the house, listen to your mom even if it doesn’t seem important. Doing these little things will definitely make them listen to you vigilantly.
DON’T FIGHT
Getting frustrated if someone says no only shows immaturity. If they do deny, let it go at the moment but come around again with better points to support your debate. It won’t be easy but it will work out.
Therapy is not only for people who think something is wrong with them. Therapy is for everyone and anyone who needs it. The human is a social animal; it thrives on connection and talking to people even if it’s a stranger it has to pay money to. We support therapy and encourage people to take a stand for themselves and not care about what people will think because ‘logon ka kaam hai kehna’